9 Houseplants That Remove Toxins From Your Indoor Air

For our first Valentine’s Day, my husband brought home two dozen long-stemmed red roses. I told him he wasted money on a cliche that would be dead in a week.

The next year, he came home with a verdant houseplant. I told him how the peace lily would scrub our indoor air for years to come.

I’ve been fascinated by houseplants and their health benefits ever since I stumbled across landmark research conducted by NASA in the 1980s. It documented the ability of particular houseplants to remove harmful substances like formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene from indoor air.

Such substances, collectively known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are emitted by synthetic materials, NASA explains. So, VOCs plague the air of sealed space stations and energy-efficient homes alike.

Other researchers have since corroborated and expanded on Wolverton’s findings. It turns out houseplants also can do everything from reduce the accumulation of dust to help patients recover from surgery.

The following nine houseplants are among the best at cleansing the air and offering other such benefits. The list also includes several beginner-friendly options.

1. Snake plant

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Don’t be deterred by this plant’s common names, which also include “mother-in-law’s tongue.” It’s ideal for folks with a black thumb.

The snake plant can survive, if not thrive, with dim light and sparse waterings. It’s so tough that it’s among a handful of houseplants that Costa Farms, one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the U.S., markets as “Plants of Steel.”

The snake plant is also among few houseplants known for producing oxygen at night. So, consider it for your bedroom.

2. Chinese evergreen

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Also referred to as Aglaonema, their scientific genus, Chinese evergreens are another air-purifying Plant of Steel known for tolerating low light.

The particular variety studied by NASA is Aglaonema crispum “Silver Queen,” named for its green and silvery leaves. But there are many varieties of Chinese evergreen, each with different leaf patterns — Costa Farms’ website highlights 11 examples.

3. Aloe vera

The succulent plant’s thick, fleshy leaves are filled with the aloe gel from which healing products have been made for centuries. Aloe is commonly sold as a sunburn soothing agent.

4. Boston fern

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The Boston fern specializes in cleansing the air of formaldehyde, which the American Cancer Society considers a known human carcinogen. Of the 50 houseplants featured in Wolverton’s book, the Boston fern ranks No. 1 for removing formaldehyde gas from the air.

6. English ivy

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This vining plant’s air-purifying ability is more than just NASA-certified.

Researchers told the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology about a study that found English ivy can clear the air of allergens such as airborne mold and even airborne dog feces, according to WebMD.

Also, in 2009, research out of the University of Georgia found English ivy had one of the five highest rates of air-contaminant removal out of 28 plants tested.

7. Golden pothos

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This vining plant is another air purifier known to tolerate neglect and lower light. It’s one of my favorites, along with the next plant on this list.

8. Peace lily

This houseplant will tolerate lower light — but it will bloom more with brighter light. It’s among few plants that will bloom reliably indoors.

Peace lilies are also well-rounded air cleaners. NASA found that they remove at least eight chemicals, particularly acetone, from the air.

9. Spider plant

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If you want to clean your air on the cheap, this is your houseplant. Spider plants are relatively easy to keep alive, and they can effectively clone themselves.

They grow umbilical cord-like shoots that bear baby spider plants, as seen in this picture. So, expanding your spider plant collection is about as simple as snipping off a baby and putting it in potting soil.

A caution about plants

Now that you’re psyched to bring home air-friendly plants, one word of caution: If you have pets or children, be sure to look up whether any plant is hazardous before bringing it home.